WASHINGTON – Senate Democrat Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin said Thursday she would oppose President Trump’s nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In an interview with the Journal Sentinel, Baldwin asserted that Gorsuch, a federal appeals court judge in Colorado, did not have a “mainstream record,” and she cited judicial rulings of his on cases involving disabled students, workers and women’s reproductive health.

“It’s a record that is going to make it hard for Trump and (Gorsuch) to earn bipartisan support,” said Baldwin. “I think the American people deserve an independent Supreme Court Justice who is going to protect constitutional rights."

Baldwin also said she would not be one of the 60 votes Gorsuch would need to overcome a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.

Baldwin’s stance is not a shock given the level of Democratic opposition to Trump and his nominees that has been brewing among the party's lawmakers, voters and activists. There is also lingering Democratic anger that Republicans refused to act on President Barack Obama’s nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to fill the same vacancy last year.

But it's notable that Baldwin came out in opposition so early in the debate — just two days after the pick was announced — and that she made it clear she not only opposed Gorsuch but would be willing to filibuster the pick by forcing Republicans to meet a 60-vote threshold to confirm him.

“President Trump and his nominee need to earn 60 votes in the Senate,” said Baldwin. “I will not be one of them.”

Baldwin's statements Thursday go far beyond the position she took two days ago, immediately after the Gorsuch pick was announced, when the Wisconsin Democrat said in a statement she would give “fair consideration to this nomination” and “fully review” his record.

In that same Tuesday statement, Baldwin also signaled she was very unlikely to vote for Gorsuch in the end, calling his judicial record “deeply troubling,” and saying that with his selection, "President Trump has made it clear ... he is intent on creating more division in our country."

While many Senate Democrats have criticized the nomination, Baldwin is one of just eight so far who have explicitly declared their opposition to Gorsuch.

Most of the others who have done so are from very Democratic states that voted for Hillary Clinton last fall. But Baldwin, who is up for re-election in 2018, is from a swing state that voted very narrowly for Trump.

Republicans fired back at Baldwin for her stance.

The state Republican Party accused her of “breaking her word to the people of Wisconsin after promising to 'fully review Judge Gorsuch’s record’ before making a decision.’”

GOP Gov. Scott Walker said on Twitter that Baldwin's position was "out of the mainstream."

Trump on Wednesday encouraged Senate Republicans to abandon the filibuster rule for Gorsuch’s confirmation if Democrats use it try to block him.

“That would be an absolute shame if a man of this quality was put up to that neglect,” Trump said.

Baldwin said in the interview there was a difference between Democrats demanding that Trump's court pick meet a 60-vote threshold and Republicans refusing to give a hearing or a vote of any kind to President Obama's pick of Garland last year.

"Their decision not to give him a hearing or vote was unprecedented and outrageous," she said.

Republicans said it is Democrats who are now trying to block a respected and qualified judge after complaining about GOP obstructionism when Obama was president.